San Antonio Business Journal (SABJ) winner for Small or Midsize Nonprofit: Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas

The San Antonio Business Journal’s Corporate Philanthropy and Non-profit Awards honors nonprofits and the corporate citizens supporting our community through philanthropy, volunteerism, board support, and corporate partnerships. The Business Journal’s second annual event presented by The Najim Family Foundation and was held on Thursday, November 16th at the Pearl Stable. The Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas was awarded as the premier organization in the Small to Mid-Size Non-profit category.

On behalf of the team at Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas, thank YOU for helping us exceed our fundraising goal during the month of October! We were given a goal of $100,000 to match by the Richmond Family Foundation.

Due to your generosity . . .$368,377
will go to directly to support grieving children and their families.

Thanks to a $75,000 grant from the Najim Family Foundation in support of programs, our community raised $268,377 that will be matched with an additional $100,000 from the Richmond Family Foundation in memory of their son, Wade.

There is still more work to be done, but we want to thank you for continued support of our organization and thank you to the Richmond Family for supporting Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas!

The Center is honored to be the beneficiary of the 2017 Uptown Art Stroll being held in the Olmos Park Terrace area this November. The artists of Olmos Park Terrace community is expanding the reach of their event this year and started a new program to partner with local nonprofit organizations. The participating artists anticipate to donate a portion of the art sales back to the Center as a donation and help spread awareness about the healing power that art has on an individual.

To help gear up for the Uptown Art Stroll in November, the Children’s Bereavement Center will be highlighting some of the artists work onsite at 205 W. Olmos Drive, San Antonio, TX 78212. The pieces that are on display at the Center can be purchased and will be on displayed till the end of October. Preview the artwork displayed at the Center below.

Please call the Center at (210) 736-4847, ext. 244 to schedule a viewing or stop by during business hours between 9am-4pm.

The Wade Richmond Foundation is offering the Center a $100,000 matching challenge in loving memory of their son, Wade.
All funds received during the month of October 2017
(That is October 1 – October 31) count towards the match.

Starting Sunday, October 1st, you can donate via website, check, cash or through any of our October events.
Please visit our website for more information
or call the Center at (210) 736-4847.

How Would You Tell Your Child That You Have Cancer? Or Explain Why Dad Can’t Give Piggyback Rides Anymore?

Three Texas organizations partner to open San Antonio’s first Wonders & Worries – a therapeutic space where children ages 2-18 whose parent is suffering a serious illness, can receive support to help them cope.

San Antonio, Texas – July 14, 2017 – San Antonio physician Jeff Hallett knows a thing or two about talking to patients about illness. But when his wife, Robin, was diagnosed with breast cancer, they felt at a loss for how to tell their daughter, Rachel, aged 10.

“It doesn’t matter your background or experience,” Jeff Hallett, MD, said. “When you have to tell your child this kind of news, you want to do it the right way. And we didn’t know how. So we called Wonders & Worries.”

Wonders & Worries is an Austin-based nonprofit that teaches parents how to parent and kids how to cope during a parent’s serious illness. It’s the only program of its kind in the US, and first in San Antonio. It is the fifth office for the organization.

For the Halletts, they now have specialized support in their own backyard. “We have found Wonders & Worries to be a tremendous resource for us at a time when help is sorely needed,” said Jeff Hallett, MD. “Robin and I can see that it has helped Rachel to cope with her mother’s illness.”

Since its inception in 2001, Wonders & Worries has served more than 6,500 family members in central Texas, and expects to reach about 100 San Antonio families in its first year. Services are offered free of charge and available in English and Spanish.

“The partnership between the START Center for Cancer Care, the Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas, and Wonders & Worries meets a growing need,” said Pam Sparks, director of physician integration at the START Center. “Nearly 3 million children in the US are living with a parent who is battling or has survived cancer.”

Executive director of Wonders & Worries, Alex Gabbi, agreed. “Austin doesn’t have a monopoly on sick parents.” Gabbi is not only the executive director, but also received services from Wonders & Worries when his late wife, Heather, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. “I look at my three kids and know that our program works. My children are well-adjusted and thriving because of what they learned from Wonders & Worries.”

Rounding out this innovative venture is the Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas. “We are honored to partner with two premier organizations that have a vision of healing and understand the impact that it has on children,” said Marian Sokol, PhD, executive director for the Center.

Wonders & Worries co-founder, Meredith Cooper, praised the initiative for executing the vision she’s had for the organization from the beginning. “This is another step towards all children and teenagers being able to reach their full potential despite a parent’s illness,” Cooper said.

Counseling and support groups are offered at the START Cancer Center location in the San Antonio Medical Center area. Referrals are welcome from physicians and families facing cancer, ALS, Parkinson’s disease, MS and other serious diagnoses. For more information or to schedule an appointment, visit www.wondersandworries.org or call 210-736-4847, ext. 247.

For more information:

About Wonders & Worries
Wonders & Worries is a nonprofit that ensures children and teens can reach their full potential despite a parent’s serious illness. Since 2001, Wonders & Worries has provided professional support to more than 6,5000 family members during a parent’s illness. Programs are offered at no cost to families in English and Spanish. Wonders & Worries is the only organization of its kind in the US. For more information, contact Penney Berryman at [email protected] or 512-329-5757, ext. 202.

About Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas
Established in 1997, the mission of the Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas is to foster healing for grieving children and youth, their families, and the community. The Center annually serves over 1,600 children and caregivers, and delivers more than 15,000 mental health service hours at no cost. For more information, contact Leslie Wood at [email protected] or 210-736-4847, ext. 247.

About the START Center for Cancer Care
The START Center for Cancer Care provides the highest-quality care for people with cancer, and helps accelerate the development of new treatments to improve patients’ quality of life and give real hope against cancer. The START Center has one of the world’s largest and most active Phase I clinical trial programs, and has helped bring 19 promising anticancer drugs to market. For more information, contact Kelly Morris at [email protected] or 210-843-9900.

Martha Atkins relieved her sadness at the death of her brother, by imagining a grief center in San Antonio just for children. In 1997 that dream became reality when she began offering peer support to San Antonio’s grieving children. She started by offering one peer support group that served 19 families, carrying the materials she used for the groups in the trunk of her car, and borrowing space from different local churches for the group meetings.

Soon after its inception, the San Antonio community recognized the benefits of the program and joined together to help purchase a permanent home for the Center at 332 W. Craig. The program grew rapidly in its new home, and services were improved and expanded. In the early years of the new millennium, it became clear that the program was growing out of the house on Craig Street, and Dr. Atkins and the dedicated and enthusiastic board of directors began to search for a larger site that would allow the Center to continue growing and serving more families. They found an outdated office building that offered 10,000 square feet of “growing room” and set about raising the funds needed to purchase and refurbish the building into the lovely, welcoming “Home with a Heart” that it is today.

This year the Children’s Bereavement Center is celebrating 20 years of service to the South Texas community – 20 years of providing children and their families with the support and guidance needed to rebuild their lives following the loss of a loved one. We are honored to serve the San Antonio and South Texas area and look forwards to the next 20 years.

The Center is celebrating the achievement of another goal – the creation of a booklet that can be used by teachers, nurses, doctors, parents – anyone who comes into contact with, and wants to help, a grieving child.

Out Came the Sun is a guide for parents, grandparents, teachers – anyone who may come in contact with a grieving child.

Out Came the Sun is a labor of love that was two years in the making. Now a reality, the book is being distributed to schools, hospitals, churches, pediatrician’s office and other organizations to provide useful information about how to support a child who is grieving the loss of a loved one.

Every year the Center provides grief support services for over 1,500 children and adult caregivers. However, there are many more grieving children in San Antonio and surrounding counties who need comfort, support and understanding. For every one of these children, there is an adult parent or caregiver who is struggling to meet the needs of the child, while coping with their own grief. Out Came the Sun is designed to help these adults by providing descriptions of appropriate grief reactions, warning signs to watch for, recommendations for how to handle different issues, referrals to on-line support and helpful books and publications.

“It is our vision to be able to serve every grieving child in our community,” said Executive Director Marian Sokol, “But we know that is not realistic. We hope that by making this book available to as many people as possible, fewer children will find themselves walking the journey of grief alone, and more will be able to recover and lead healthy, productive lives.”

Thanks to Editor Michele Stanush for her insights and recommendations, and the team at TradeCraft for their creative guidance. The first printing of the book was made possible by a contribution from the San Antonio Pi Beta Phi Alumni Association. Already underway, the second printing was made possible by the Porter Loring Family.

The Center hopes to distribute Out Came the Sun to organizations and individuals who would find it most useful. If you would like to order a copy, you can CLICK HERE to contact the Center with your request.

This year at the Texas Cavalier’s River Parade our float, Pot of Gold at the End of the Rainbow, highlighted some of the cutest fairies and leprechauns on this side of the rainbow… all made possible by the support of the Porter Loring Family.

Every year, the Texas Cavaliers River Parade features more than 45 decorated floats gliding down the San Antonio River as thousands of onlookers enjoy the sights and sounds of this unique event. The Texas Cavaliers Charitable Foundation uses the proceeds from the parade to benefit children’s charities in our community. This year, the Texas Cavaliers donated over five thousand dollars to the Center in support of our peer support programs for grieving children.

THANK YOU TO THE TEXAS CAVALIERS FOR SUPPORTING CHILDREN IN SAN ANTONIO!!

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Upcoming

Come out for Tour of the Heart!! Join Leslie Wood for a tour of the Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas at 11:00 am on the first Friday of each month. Take this opportunity to get a firsthand look at our facility, as well as learn more about our services and how you can help [...]